I’m sad to say that this is our last day in France for the 2010 Tour. I’m usually ready to go home after a month of being away, but this has gone by so fast and we’re just getting settled into one of the most beautiful places in the world – the Pyrenees.
We had intended to climb up the Tourmalet to watch today’s stage but the logistics proved to be too difficult. Or should I say, the 35km climb from where we are staying proved to be too difficult! In any case, we planted ourselves in a small town at the base of the Tourmalet to take part in the festivities and watch the riders come through. We still had a fantastic time and managed to get a good ride in as well. What more could we ask for?
I have to say, there was a part of me hoping that Lance would pull off the stage win today. When I think back over the years he’s given me some exhilarating moments while watching the Tour. Sure there is a big elephant in the room with the allegations against him, but that doesn’t take those moments away from me. It would have been nice to see him leave the sport gracefully. He’s a completely different rider than he was a year ago and it’s hard to say why there’s such a drastic difference. My guess is there is some heavy stuff going on in the background with the whole Landis affair that’s taking up a lot of his energy. I think we’ve only seen the beginning…
It’s been a hell of a month here in Switzerland and France and I have BMC to thank for bringing me here. I also have all the other Cycling Tips sponsors to thank just as much because they have helped pay for my hotels, food, transport, etc. It’s been a dream come true being able to do the Passportes du Soleil, watch the TdF in person, and ride L’Etape du Tour. Most of all, thank you to everyone who comes to read CT every day. The comments, opinions and interaction is what makes it so interesting to read.
I’ll be offline for the next couple of days while I travel back to Australia. In the mean time I put up a twitter feed of all the TdF riders in the right column of the page (better late than never).
I can’t wait to get back to riding in the wind and cold and staying up until 1am watching the rest of the TdF! ;-)
McEwen was miles behind the groupetto at the base of the Tourmalet. He was riding in last place all alone. I have no idea how he climbed back up to 90th place at only 35mins down on the stage. He tweeted “What a day.rode 3hrs over 1st 3 mtns alone chasing grupetto.2nd half of stage simple in comparison.Aussie steel- bends but doesn’t break ;)”
Can anyone spot Mrs CT in this photo?
{ 47 comments }
1) – A
2) – C
3) – B
Bonus – C – white on red number
Cracker of a night for me last night… went to bed early and aimed to get up to watch the last 1.5hrs.
When my alarm went, I quickly turned it off so as to not wake my wife. After what felt like just a minute or two, I pulled myself out of bed and went and sat in front of the telly, only to turn it on and see Micky T, Rupert and ??? talking about the stage that had just finished. I quikly look at the clock and notice it is 1.30am. That minute or two was 1.5hrs!!! Oh well.
I'll try again tomorrow night.
I'll guess B, B, C.
As for last night's Tour stage, it must be the kind of stage that gives sprinters like Robbie the absolute irrits. All that effort slogging over the mountains to make the time cut, but the last hill is so far from the finish there's no way it'll affect the GC.
Was kind of nice to see Armstrong having one last dig, even if he does belong to an era where the tour was, um,
more unambiguously doped“faster” than it currently is.A
C
outside time limit – i guess B is closest to that.
C
How intoxifying is the atmosphere!
The biggest story from last nights stage should be the Jens Voigt story:
http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/tour-fe...
…..”So then the broom wagon pulled up and was like, “Do you want to just get in?” And I said, “Oh no, I don’t need YOU!”…..
–> Followed by a Conan the Barbarian story.
Jens GOLD!
1. A
2. C
3. B
Bonus: C
I wish we could have seen a GC battle today but I guess none of the riders want to take a chance with a high risk/reward situation. Also strong teams negate the chance of any early GC move.
Interesting article: http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/i-...
Much worse than contador/schleck imo.
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
Was kinda hoping lance would win just as a fair well sort of thing
1. Surely gotta be A
2. C
3. Means finished outside of the time limit. Everyone else equates that to B so I will too =)
Bonus: C
Sorry: Quiz answers
1: A
2: C
3: B
4: C
a
b
none of these answers
c
Here are some guesses:
1 A – It takes a lot of euros to mount such an extravagant and extraordinary event. More than that though, it takes a gig-ton of heart to make it exciting and only the riders can do this! Prime examples, Robbie Mc, Jens, Cadel, Stuey
2 A This kind of climbing makes a french fete in a quiet village seem very desirable
3 C
Bonus C
Yep, I reckon Lancypants must have a bit on his mind, as would Ale P. It is a pity that such a great event be scandalised by the timing of these revelations. Then, again, it is also a pity that it has been, and maybe always will be subject to all sorts of cheating and scandal. I support efforts to clean the sport up, even if it means a few tough questions and a few fallen heroes.
Thats unbelievable! To smaller bike with toe clips smashed to bits but still he wont give up!!!!
Nothing like keeping it in house!!!
Was that Jeff Provin with the Big Glasses and the Tri-Colour wig?
I see another shirt in the CT Range….”Oh No…I don't need YOU!”
Ok. Here goes.
A. Show me the MONEY. You need a lot of money for this sort of event.
C. According to the Official TdF RIDE Magazine (p256)
C. Although strictly speaking it means outside the time. So I am guessing the gist of this is that this is the time A rider has to finish the stage after the first rider has crossed the line. eg To finish Hors Delai is to finish outside the alotted time.
C.
On another note I would like to thank Wade for the GREAT coverage froma fan perspective of the race. Being only new to this site and only finding this blog during the Giro, I have become a big fan. I look forward to getting to work and checking the blog every morning to see what you have posted. (And get disappointed but understand, when I cannot get my daily fix of CT.)
Great work Wade, Have a safe trip back to Aust, and look forward to the next post, whenever that may be.
Oh and thanks to the Sponsors for sending him over, now can I have my ticket for next years tour?………:)
Finally something good about a 2 hr difference to the Eastern States. I just get to go to bed at around 11.15 to 11.30 after the coverage has finished. Yay for WA!
Or possibly “Shut Up Everything!”
oh and
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
A
C
B
C
So desperately wanted to see Lance cause mix up in the GC last night, i may not like him but that would've been awesome.
Hopefully see plenty of anger from Andy tonight, should make some good racing
Need a new kit, old one is too big now, so worth a shot
A
C
B-outside time, ie kicked out, unlike the mighty jens + robbie
C
Once again awesome photos and comments, and hope you can keep the tour coverage going even here in the mighty aus
And also possible launch a complete jens t-shirt range
Mark Renshaw? Is that you?
Jeez mate, slipping already…
1 – A – lots and lots
2 – C – I keep thinking it's longer and steeper than donna buang… the only comparison, other than hotham I have ridden.
3 – B – although means outside time limit. let's hope robbie makes it to paris after today's effort!
Bonus – C
A C B C
Answers…
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
I agree with some of the other comments- why have such a difficult stage with 50/60kms of flat/ downhill at the end, essentially negating any possible GC fight? As awesome as it was to see Lance off the front giving it hell. It would have been nice to see a bit if battle for the GC instead of a procession.
Great work on the blog Wade, only found out about CT during the Giro and it has become part of my daily cycling fix, keep up the good work.
PS Will be surprised if Gadret doesn't change squads next year after leaving Roche stranded the other night… so much for “teamwork”!
Agree Gold
“My right ankle is the only part of me that isn't hurting”
A,C,B,C
My vote for ride of the day goes to Thor Hushovd. To drag his big (~81kg) frame over those climbs and pretty much stay with the peleton, and then claim the points at the end, what a massive effort. He deserves to be in Green tomorrow. Though his sprint legs don't seem to be firing like his climbing legs ironically. At least we'll still have a couple more exciting finishes between Cav, Peta and Thor to keep things interesting after the mountains are finished tomorrow night.
Ha ha!!! If only, then I wouldn't have to be trying to answer some quizzes to get some free kit to replace my Aldi stuff!!!
http://tdf.sbs.com.au/tdf2010/news/article/3293...
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
Shame Lance couldn't finish it off and go out with at least a stage, hero of the day though has to go to The Man Jens Voigt, strong as an ox!
If anyone wants to try out the Watt Bike (http://wattbike.com/au) Cafe Racer on Beach Road Elwood have one in their cafe at the moment, complete with a leader's board for you to put in your 1km TT time. Top Gear style.
Suggest doing your ITT on the Watt Bike prior to the double espresso and eggs though, saves running past all the other cyclists to hurl outside..
1) – A, it isn't a charity…
2) – C, guess
3) – B… but as above (MattM) I thought it was the exclusion time, not the riders actual time, so after this point the riders are listed as being hors (outside) delai (as in Delay = late)
Bonus – C – white on red number
A
C
B
C
The kit might even be a good replacement for my stubbies and blue singlet. Rule #5 is starting to wear thin.
I have to say, given Barredo's perchance to trying to batter other riders with wheels I'm gald it wasn't me closing down his break yesterday!
#cyclingpansy
No, but it might have been him in the blue super-retro kit a few pics above that one…hehe
He should get a refund on the stupid powerband thing on his wrist…
Answers..
A
C
B
C
Bonus question.. the cutie in the blue sleeveless shirt?
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
will be sad on sunday night when its all over i'll have to find somthing else to do at 12am in the morning, oh thats right sleep
1: A
2: C
3: B
4: C
p.s. Wade, maybe you should give Jens some new kit, looks like he could use it!
Jens is one of the few riders I've seen that almost seems to enjoy crashing. Check out this video of him after the stage. Have you ever heard anyone sounding so happy with himself after hitting the road at 70km/hr?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfiBbZJTx9s
1. A.
Each advertiser will pay in the vicinity of 150,000-200,000 Euro for a place in the caravan. So it should easily be worth 12.5million to the ASO.
2. C
From Luz-Saint-Sauveur, on the western side, the climb is 19 km long, climbing 1,404m at an average of 7.4 percent with a maximum of 10.2 near the summit.
3. Literally translated, this means “out of time” and is usually used to used to describe riders who have finished outside of the time limit for the stage. So I don't think that any of the answers here are really right! However, if I had to choose one I would choose D ;)
Bonus question. C
The most recent winner of theprix de la combativité was Franco Pellizotti!
A
C
B
C
Thanks for the posting Wade, content n comment fantastic! Save flight home to the Melbourne bubble…
Quote of the Tour so far for me:-
“If John Gadret is found dead in his hotel room in the morning, I will probably be the primary suspect,” comment from AG2R team leader Nicolas Roche after John Gadret refused to stop and give his wheel and no neutral spare available
Answers:
1. A
2. C
3. B-ish, the time limit for exclusion, although I'm pretty sure in early editions, B was caused by D
Bonus. C
Gotta hand it to Thor last night, massive effort to stay with the leaders over those climbs and get the green jersey back. That kept my interest going while the GC guys just watched each other.
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
Did you see the interview with Jens? I bet he broke a rib or two. But he will be riding Thursday morning. It may not have been an exciting stage from a GC point of view, but I am sure everyone was hoping LA would win the stage.
1 A
2 C
3 B, or time limit for exclusion, was a bit worried when the CN text feed said robbie was dropped right at the start yesterday
4 C, who do u think will win the overall combativity prize? maybe chavanel, guess there's still a few stages left and someone like voeckler, cunego or charteau might have another go
Is radiation Jens' kryptonite?
Quote,”I may have to get x-rays, but I hate x-rays (the radiation)”…
That shot of him on the little yellow bike makes me wonder if the only bike they'd had was a BMX whether we still would have seen him thrashing one of them to catch the bunch?
“Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!”
Here's my tip for the next few days, Gesink hangs on to the Tourmalet then loses mega minutes in the ITT and drops out of the top 10, Menchov stays upright and literally steals 3rd in the GC, Wiggins and Armstrong turn themselves inside out (sorry) to show something but only do so in the ITT, Sammy Sanchez fights valiantly but finishes 4th, and Schleck gains a few on Thursday but loses several minutes to El Pistero in the ITT (which ends as a fizzer).
Also, Wade suffers post-trip depression after arriving back to the wet and cold.
Question: Is Andy Schleck a soft c0ck?
After his fury and “I will have my revenge..” comments the day before, how does he then get to sidle up to Alberto whispering sweet nothings and not even fire a shot? I've heard worse things said in random bunches on Beach Road.
If anything, Contador's You Tube “poor me” clip would have made me laugh. Where's Schleck's backbone, he made the comments and huffed and puffed.
There is an accepted code or unwritten rule not to attack on a mechanical problem in cycling. Cricket has its 'don't run out the other batsman; don't bowl bouncers to tail enders'; soccer has its 'kick out the ball if a player is injured', tennis has it's 'wave a hand when you win on a net court', Golf has its 'don't date more than 3 porn stars at once', and Aussie Rules has no code (it's ok to punch a player's broken hand behind play and punch in the back, ala Stevie Baker).
If Schleck goes down without a whimper in this Tour I'll be very sceptical about his ticker.
not sure how the comments got closed in this thread. Back up and running now…
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